Ernest wildhaber



Dec. l0; 1929. E. wlLDHABl-:R 11,739,196

AXLE n.

Filed June 30. 192'? Patented Dec. 10, 1929 UNITED f STATES PATENT OFI-Ica ERNEST WILDHABER, oF BROOKLYN, NEW Yonx AXLE Application mea June so,

.reduction arranged after `the differential mechanism. The said. gear reduction more- Yover consists of an' angular drive, the two .gears `of apair having angularly disposed axes.l Such gears are called bevel gears,when

th'eiraxes'i'nterseot, int-heir elongation, and

they .are vcalled hypoid gears, whenvtheir ,axes areofset from eachother. u

One object ofthe present invention is to provide an axle' suited .for automobiles, in which vthe driving'mechanism can be kept down to a minimumv smaller than has hitherto been possible.

A further aim is to provide an axle of novel 'type combined. with a uniform motion universal joint.- f

A stillifurtherv object is to provide an axle, in which the final driveis operated with tooth loads, of which. the axialv thrusts are balanced, so that operation'with angular drives is effected yin a manner equivalent to thelaction of herringbone gears. i `..Another object is-to devise va novel axle, whichpermits of a very low body design;

Other objects will be apparent in the course ofthe specification and from recital 4of the f. .Embodiments of my invention are illustrated inthe accompanying drawings, in whichf `Fig. 1 is a plan `view,partly in section, AofU-the driving mechanism ofY an axle construeted in accordance with my invention. y

.-fFig. 2 vis a partial elevational view. corresponding to Fig. 1, showingthe drive shaft y (11)- and a gear (23,) in their vrelative positions.V f

MCFig. 3 is a diagrammatic plan View, partly af-section, of an axlefconstituting, a' modified embodimentof the invention. f -'"F i`g. 4isl'a-front lelevational view and4 sectioncorresponding to Fig. V3. NrIn the Figures 1 and 2, the numeral 11 de- -notesla drive. shaftreceiving power from a 1motor. Shaft 11 islrjournalled- Ain t w0.. bearrof a universal `19 are coaxial and integral with two tapered 1927. serial no. 202,582.

ings 12, 13, and carries on its driving end 4` suitable means for receiving power, such as a fork 14 having pivots 15, and forming part jointof known or of novel construction.

Drive shaft 11 contains a number of pivi ots 16, disposed kat right angles to .its axis and intersecting said axis, and which may be made integral with shaft 11. Planetary pinions 17are journalled on saidpivots, and kept v50 Vin engagement with two gears 18, 19 by a )splitcasing 20. Pinions 17 and gears 18, 19 Vconstituter a differential mechanism or differential gear -of known type. The gears 18,

le5 pinions 21, 22 respectively, which mesh with two coaxial gears 23, 24, pinionr21 meshing with gear 23 and pinion 22 meshing with gear 24. Interference between pinion 21 and gear 24 and on the other hand between pinion 22and gear 2 3 is avoided ,by tilting the common axisof the pinions (11), so that it -is inclined to a plane 25 perpendicular to the commonaxis 26 of the gears.

' The gears 23 24 are respectively connecte with two roadwheels"(such as 76, 77 in Fig. 3) of a vehicle .'through' vshafts 26', 26".

In the embodiments of my invention, where 4the axes 11 and 26 intersect, that is to say where bevel lgears are used for the final gear reduction of the axle, I preferably provide the pinions 21, 22 with teeth inclined to the .straight generatrices of their pitch surfaces, and arrange the teeth in opposite hands on the two pinions, sothat one pinion (22) is` rig-ht hand, and the other (21) is left hand. l

Moreover preferably large tooth inclinations or spiral angles are provided, usually as large as 40, and `equal tooth inclinations 0r spiral angles on the two pinions. 1 Y 29o The components of the toothloads extending parallel to the axis of the pinions, that is to say the thrust loads exerted on the pin- -lyQWhen the yehicle, travels, in a straightpath, '-100 l' lSO pinions 2l, 22, collars 30 and shaft l1 turn as a unit, and no relative motion exists between either part. The power transmission is then similiar to the transmission with double helical or herringbone gearing. Slight relative motion results only during the short periods, when the vehicle turns a corner, in which case the differential pinions 1 7 turn on their journals 16, as well known.

lith the present invention it is possible to obtain the smooth action of inclined teeth or spiral teeth on bevel gears, without the disadvantage of large thrust loads, in fact without thrust load. The loads on the bearings l2, 13 are moreover comparatively small, on account of their large distance from one another; and the shafts are rigidly held therein. Further it is noted that the blanks of the pinions 2l,- 22 are equal, and the blanks of the gears 23, 24 are equal also, slight advantages which are nevertheless appreciated in proellltili.

In one embodiment of my invention, the drive shaft 11 is arranged in horizontal direc* tion, see Fig. 2, and substantially parallel to the plane which is tangent to all the road wheels of the vehicle'. rlhis embodiment follows in that respect present current practice.

Axles constructed according tothe present invention generally rely for smooth operation on universal joints or levers somewhat more than standard aXle's. Special attention is therefore paid to suitable selection of such joints or rotary levers. Preferably l use means' of the characterv of a universal joint adjacent the drive shaft l1, which are suited to transmit true uniform motion.

A further important embodiment of my invention is diagrammaticaly illustrated in Fig. 3 and Fig. 1l. It is generally desirable not only to keep the differential casing G5 at a smallest possible diameter, but also to lower the drive from the engine to said differential casing, for gaining space and for making possible a low design, effecting a low-center of gravity of the complete vehicle.

This aim is obtained in the present case, Fig. 3 and Fig. fl, by inclining the drive shaft (ll) to the plane (67) which is tangent to all the road wheels' of the vehicle, ordinarily to the four 'wheels of a. car or truck. The inclination angle towards this plane, which may be referred te briefly as a horiio'ntal plan-e,- isy preferably in excess of ten degrees n(10), the driving end ll being lower 'the opposite end 1.1". Except for the different position et the drive shaft with respect tesad plane,- thfe design or the driving mechanism is kept along' the lines described with reference to; Fig. 1.

Power is applied to shaft 11 `from a 'shaft 68, which is diagrammatically,indicated as a line, and. which ordinarily includes a considerable angle 69 with shaft-ll. Preferably a uni-term menen unizveifsal'A jeint is'l used for connecting the shafts 68 and 11. Such a joint is diagrammatically indicated as a small circle 70. Joint 70 transmits true uniform motionI at any angular position of the two shafts 68 and ll, and, unlike a pair of gears, can be kept free from backlash at dilierent angles 69. i It takes the place of a universal joint, without having its drawback of transmitting periodically changing motion, when the angularity is considerable.

In operation, the drive shaft ll rotates the differential 71, which in turn transmits equal torque to the two coaxial spiral bevel pinions 72, 73. rilhese pinions mesh with two gears 74:, 75 respectively, which are connected with the road wheels 7G, 77 of the vehicle. The gears 74, 75 are preferably coaxial. lf so desired, gear 74, wheel 76 and their connect; ing' means, and on the other hand gear 75, wheel 77 and the connecting means, may' be so mounted as to permit individual angular displacement about an axis (78) which is the projection of the axis of shaft ll to the vertical 'plane 79. Such displacement or swinging motion may sometimes be provided for taking up shock loads with springs.

Preferably the motor is set at a lower level as compared with` the conventional bevel gear drive.

Further changes and modifications may be made in my invention without departing from its spirit. For delinition of its scope l rely on the annexed claims.

lil/That l claim is:

l. An axle, containing a drive shaft, two

bevel pinions coaxial with said drive shaft, a-

flilfeieiitial mechanism for transmitting torque to said pinions, two bevel gears meshing with said pinions and constituting two pairs, both pairs containing teeth inclined to the straight generatrices of their pitch sur faces, the teeth being arranged in opposite hands on the two pinions, the axis of the pinions being inclined to a plane perpendicir lar to the axis of a gear.

2. An axle, containing a drive shaft, two tapered pinions coaxial with said drive shaft, a differential mechanism for transn'iitting torque to said pinions, two tapered gears meshing with said pinions and constituting two pairs, both pairs' containing teeth inclined to the straight generatrices of their pitch surfaces, the teeth being arranged in opposite hands on the two pinions, and the airis of the pinions being inclined to a plane perpendicular to the aXis of a gear. i

3. An axle containing two coaxial spiral bevel gears operatively connected with two road wheels respectively, two coaxial spiral bevel pinions meshing with said gears and having a center line incl-ined to a plane perpendicular to the center line of said gears, said pinions containing curved teeth arranged in opposite. banda and a differential lou mechanismy for transmitting torque to said Y pinions.

4. axle containingtwo coaxial spiral bevel gears of equal diameters connected With two road Wheels respectively, two coaxial spiralbevel pinions meshing With said gears and having a center line inclined to a plane perpendicular to the center line of said gears, said two pinions containing teeth inclined by equalj'angles to the straight generatrices of their f'pitch surfaces and arranged in opposite hands, and a differential mechanism for transmitting torque to said pinions.

ERNEST WILDHABER. 

